Professor Adrian Bell at the CFA Middle East Investment Conference

The Apple Card is due to launch soon with the help of Mastercard and Goldman Sachs. But why has Apple ventured into the financial sphere? Companies like Apple and Facebook have advantages over traditional banks due to the multiple touch points they have with their clients.

The International Capital Market Association (ICMA) today announced that the Operations Certificate Programme (OCP) is the first "Recommended Exam" on the Wholesale Banking / Operations list, compiled by the UK's Financial Services Skills Council (FSSC). The programme has also met the FSSC's Key 6 "Appropriate Exam" standards for Activity 16 - Overseeing on a day-to-day basis safeguarding and administrating investment or holding of client money) and Activity 17 - Overseeing on a day-to-day basis administrative functions for managing investments including, arranging settlement; monitoring and processing corporate actions; client account administration, liaison and reporting, including valuation and performance measurement; ISA, PEP or CTF administration; Investment trust savings scheme administration.

With that thought in mind, it has been dry lately, hasn’t it?